Preventing Problems

at the Polls: Wisconsin

By Billy Corriher and Liz Kennedy

September 26, 2016

Wisconsin has had an admirable record of relatively smooth election administration,

thanks in part to its same-day registration rule. There is a danger of problems at the polls
this year, however, due to recent restrictions on voters and changes in voting rules, as well
as the abolition of the states nonpartisan Government Accountability Board, or GAB.
In 2014, the legislature slashed early voting and passed a strict voter identification
law that threatened to disenfranchise the 300,000 registered voters who lacked an
acceptable form of ID.3 A recent leak of materials from the Wisconsin John Doe
investigation into money in politics in the campaign leading up to the 2012 recall
election reveal a political strategists suggestion that Republicans start messaging
widespread reports of election fraud during a tight 2011 election that was headed
toward a recount.4 Legislators in Wisconsin and elsewhere have justified voter ID laws
with similarly misleading claims of voter fraud.5 While voter impersonation fraud is
extremely rare, the denial of voting rights for those who lack the required ID is very
real. This year, a federal courts order that Wisconsin voters who were unable to obtain
an accepted form of ID be allowed to cast a ballot upon signing an affidavit was overturned by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.6 The state has committed to providing free IDs through DMV offices.
On the other hand, cuts to early voting were struck down in July after a federal judge
ruled that they intentionally discriminated against voters of color.7 The judge faulted
the legislature for trying to achieve a partisan objective by suppressing the reliably
Democratic vote of Milwaukees African Americans.8 That ruling also struck down measures that had extended the residency requirement from 10 days prior to the election
to 28 days, as well as a prohibition on municipalities offering in-person absentee voting
at more than one location.9 Municipalities throughout Wisconsin have announced
expanded early voting hours, and some are taking advantage of the opportunity to offer
multiple voting locations.10

1 Center for American Progress | Preventing Problems at the Polls: Wisconsin

The integrity of elections in the United

States demands that every eligible American is able to cast a ballot and trust that it
will be counted. Americans have the right
to choose their representatives and take
part in electoral decision-making. But across
the country, thousands of voters have not
had their voices heardeither because of
targeted voter suppression laws or poor
election administration decisions.1 While the
vast majority of Americans will vote without
encountering difficulties, in recent election
cycles, voters have faced preventable problems and unnecessary hurdles. Failures at
the polls may deny individuals their right to
participate in the democratic process.
This series of issue briefs assesses potential
problems for voters in states that have experienced issues with election administration
or recent changes to voting rules. Each brief
analyzes steps to improve election performance and the voting experience. Ongoing
lawsuits have led to significant changes in
recent weeks, as federal judges have ruled
that many provisions of new voting laws
discriminate against voters of color and collectively burden voting rights for hundreds
of thousands of Americans.2 Understanding
the potential burdens that voters may face
is a first step toward ensuring that voting is
free, fair, and accessible for all Americans.

These new voting laws came after an increase in turnout by black voters in recent presidential election years. Although overall turnout in Wisconsin has varied in the past three
presidential races, turnout by black voters grew in 2008 and 2012 to equal that of white
voters.11 Latino voters, however, have continued to lag behind other groups in their rate
of voter participation.12

Problems in the 2016 primaries

The new voting laws contributed to delays during the April primaries at several
Wisconsin polling places. Students at Marquette University and the University of
WisconsinMadison waited in line for more than an hour to vote, compared with an
average eight-minute wait across the state.13 The bipartisan Presidential Commission
on Election Administration, formed after long lines plagued polling locations across
the country in 2012, recommends that no citizen should have to wait more than
30 minutes to vote.14 Poll observers for the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin
confirmed the problems with campus polling places.15 The longest waits were reported
to be up to between 2 hours and 3 hours long to complete the registration and voting
process.16 The League attributed the problem to confusion over the ID requirement,
new rules for showing proof of residence to register, and insufficient staffing of polling places.17 It also noted 32 polling sites where poll workers were confused about
whether or not a current address was supposed to be on the ID, showing a lack of
sufficient training for poll workers.18
A League of Women Voters report documented several troubling stories of voters
who could not satisfy the voter ID requirement.19 The state now requires a state-issued
drivers license, a state ID card, a military ID, a U.S. passport, a veterans ID, an ID from
a federally recognized Indian tribe, or a photo ID issued by an accredited Wisconsin
college.20 One disabled veteran was able to register using an expired drivers license, but
he was then denied a ballot because the license had expired shortly before the 2014
cutoff.21 The League observer noted that the veteran left in tears.22
If students vote using a college ID, state law now requires them also to bring proof
of enrollment, such as a class schedule or tuition receipt.23 If students are unaware of
this additional requirement, they may be barred from voting unless they have another
form of identification that meets Wisconsins strict standards. Colleges and universities
should assist students in overcoming this burden by sending every enrolled student a
receipt or schedule before Election Day.
Given the recent changes to voting rules, the state needs to engage in significant, coordinated outreach to train all of Wisconsins poll-workers. Unlike other states, Wisconsin
administers elections at the municipal level, meaning that each of the states 1,830 cities

2 Center for American Progress | Preventing Problems at the Polls: Wisconsin

and towns are responsible for administering elections.24 And the state must follow
through on its public education efforts to communicate what forms of voter ID are
required so that voters will know what they need to bring with them in order to cast a
ballot that will be counted come November.

What to watch for at the polls

New voting restrictions
Wisconsins unnecessarily restrictive photo ID law will be in effect in November,
and a judge has ordered the state to spell out exactly how it will inform voters of the
ID requirement.25 Although the state agreed to provide a free ID to any voter who
asks for one, a recent court decision found the ID petition process to be unconstitutional.26 The judge said that the process was pretty much a disaster and a wretched
failure because it failed to offer adequate protection for voters who tried to obtain
proper identification.27 The state is implementing an emergency rule to mail free
temporary IDs to voters who ask for them while waiting for their new IDs to arrive.28
Additionally, the fact that the IDs will be mailed to applicants could pose problems
for voters seeking IDs in the days before an election, as their IDs may not be delivered
in time. The state has indicated that it will attempt to expedite the process in the final
days before the November election.
The 7th Circuit recently reinstated the new voter ID law, overruling a lower courts
ruling that would have allowed voters who lacked the required ID to vote after filing an
affidavit testifying that they had made a reasonable effort to secure an ID.29 The 7th
Circuit said that this did not comply with the U.S. Supreme Courts rulings on voter ID
laws, and it noted that Wisconsin had agreed to make it easier for voters to obtain the
required ID.30 The court also said that its decision is dependent on the state complying
with this agreement and informing the public of its offer to provide free IDs.31 A federal
judge will monitor the states compliance with its own emergency rule and promised
efforts to assist voters in obtaining IDs.32
The state legislature also attempted to slash the number of early voting days and limit
the number of early voting locations per municipality, but a federal judge struck down
these changes as violations of the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act.33
Another recent change to a voting law will eventually eliminate special registration
deputiestrained citizens who are empowered by state law to register other citizens to
vote.34 While this recent legislation also allows online voter registration for the first time,
it is unnecessary and inequitable to cripple person-to-person voter registration drives.35

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Voter registration
Wisconsin voters continue to benefit from same day registration, or SDR, which
allows people to register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day. Thirteen states and
Washington, D.C., have SDR programs; California, Hawaii, and Vermont have enacted
but not yet implemented SDR, and Utah is running an SDR pilot program.36 SDR helps
boost participation rates: States with SDR average turnout rates 10 points to 12 points
above states that do not allow eligible citizens to register and vote on the same day.37 In
Wisconsin in 2012, more than 300,000 voters cast their ballots using SDR.38
Wisconsin law requires that voting rolls be purged of inactive voters every four years
between the time of the general election and the following July.39 This means that
Wisconsin has not seen the kind of pre-election statewide voter purges that other states
have experienced. In 2004, however, Republican officials used software from the U.S.
Postal Service to analyze the addresses of more than 300,000 registered voters in heavily Democratic Milwaukee.40 The state Republican party challenged the registration of
more than 5,000 of those voters, but the states election board rejected the challenge.41
The city and the party agreed that the voters would be asked for identification, but even
the head of the state GOP admitted there were few reports of trouble in the end.42 A
Republican strategist told The New York Times that this was a political ploy to distract
Democrats in the days before the election.43

Voter challenges
There has been a lot of rhetoric this year about enlisting volunteers to watch the polls for
potential fraud. These effortsusually targeted at communities of colorcan endanger
voters rights through outright intimidation or other disruptive behavior. This raises the
specter of bullies at the ballot box, taking it upon themselves to challenge their fellow
Americans right to participate in the democratic process.44
Wisconsins laws on challenging voters are very broad and allow challenges for a variety
of reasons. On Election Day for example, any registered voter may challenge another
voters qualifications but only if the challenger knows or suspects that the voter is not
qualified to vote.45 Election officials will ask the challenger under oath why he or she
believes the voter is not qualified through several specific, state-approved questions
about the voters qualifications.46 State law says that any elector who abuses the right to
challenge may be subject to sanctions.47 Hopefully this form of accountability will
deter groundless voter challenges.

4 Center for American Progress | Preventing Problems at the Polls: Wisconsin

The state also requires inspectors at polling places to challenge any voter who they
know or suspect is not qualified.48 Then the challenged voter must answer questions
under oath.49 While requiring knowledge is appropriately protective of a voters rights,
allowing challenges on the basis of suspicion leaves much to the discretion and judgment of poll workers, who could potentially abuse this authority. It further underscores
the paramount importance of proper poll worker training.
Voters whose qualifications or registration are challenged only lose their right to vote if
elections officials determine beyond a reasonable doubt that they are not qualified.50
This standard protects voters rights by placing the burden on the challenger. Voters
challenged at the polls will be placed under oath and asked about their qualifications.51
If they refuse to take the oath or fully answer the questions, then they cannot receive
a ballot.52 If the challenged voters answers indicate that the person meets the voting
qualification requirements, the persons vote shall be received.53 While the laws are
broad, the states same-day registration has mitigated the impact on voters.54
Voters can also challenge another voters registration, however, by filing an affidavit and
appearing for a hearing on the issue.55 Challenged voters are mailed a notice of their
hearing, and if they do not appear, an elections official can make a decision without
them.56 Being required to show up at a hearingand potentially having to take time off
from work or find child carecan impose a significant burden on voters.

Voter intimidation
State law prohibits the use of fraud or threats to compel any person to vote or refrain
from voting.57 State law also says that no one can compel, induce, or prevail upon
an elector to vote for or against any candidate.58 In 2012, however, the GAB said it
received disturbing reports about unacceptable, illegal behavior by observers.59
During Gov. Scott Walkers (R-WI) recall election, The Atlantic reported that activists
streamed into poor black and Latino precincts around Racine, hunting for evidence
that people were cheating.60 No evidence of fraud was found after an official investigation, but there were many reports of voter intimidation.61 The League of Women
Voters reported receiving more than 50 reports complaining that volunteers from True
the Vote, a self-appointed ballot security group, hovered over registration tables and
aggressively challenged voters eligibility.62 Many students reported that they were
challenged by True the Vote and mocked by the group on social media.63 There were
also reportedsightings of poll watchers tailing vans that were transporting voters to the
polls, snapping photos ofvoters license plates, even directing voters to the wrong polling places.64 Critics charged that activist poll watchers intended to intimidate voters in
the 2012 election.65

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In 2014, Wisconsin enacted a law that allows observers to be within three feet to eight
feet of voters inside polling locations as voters announce their names or register to
vote.66 In November, poll workers will need to ensure that any poll watching operations
do not slide into illegal voter intimidation.67

Election administration budgets and plans

Wisconsin used to be a model of nonpartisan election administration.68 The GAB was
created by Wisconsins legislators in 2007 in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote after
representatives from both parties went to jail for misusing public funds.69 It enforced
campaign finance laws and ethics rules, and it administered elections in a fair, nonpartisan manner.70 The GAB was set up as a single, strong, independent, and completely
nonpartisan agency with the funding and independent authority to investigate and
prosecute violations of the public trust.71 It was the only nonpartisan election administration model of its kind in the country, led by six former judges who were chosen
by four sitting judges, appointed by the governor, and confirmed by the state Senate to
oversee elections and ethics issues.
But in 2015, legislators eliminated the GAB in favor of two boards made up of
Democrats and Republicans appointed by partisan elected officials, including the
Wisconsin Elections Commission.72 The GABin addition to running smooth electionsalso held politicians accountable for violating campaign finance laws.73 The legislature replaced it with the Elections Commission and the Ethics Commission.74 The bill
was passed on partisan lines after the GAB began investigating potential illegal coordination between Gov. Walkers campaign and pro-business interest groups supporting him,
including the Wisconsin Club for Growth.75
The GAB was a big reason why elections in Wisconsin were so well-run for nearly a
decade. A 2012 article in The American Prospect noted that the GAB made a variety of
common-sense decisions that in many other states would have gotten tangled up in
political fights.76 It allowed poll workers to accept electronic documents to prove residence.77 It sent guidance on the rules for poll watching to groups that were organizing
such activity, such as True the Vote.78 The GAB also created a five-year elections administration plan for elections through 2014 and successfully pushed for funding to educate
the public on the new voter ID law.79
Like the gridlocked Federal Election Commission in Washington,80 the new
Wisconsin commissions are composed of three Democrats and three Republicans.81
Commissioners have already disagreed over how to implement the voter ID law, in light
of the recent court rulings.82 Most of the commissions website says that it is still under
construction, and with mere weeks to go before the election, it relies almost exclusively
on links to the GAB website for guidance on voting.83

6 Center for American Progress | Preventing Problems at the Polls: Wisconsin

Provisional balloting
Historically, Wisconsin has had relatively low rates of provisional ballots and rejections
of those ballots.84 But the new voting requirements could lead to much higher rates of
provisional voting this year, and voting rights advocates fear that many of those ballots will be rejected.85 Ann Jacobs of the Wisconsin Elections Commission worries that
voters who do not have an ID on Election Day will not have their vote counted.86 Jacobs
notes that even if voters cast a provisional ballot, they must satisfy the ID requirement
by the Friday after the election, even though the ID likely would not arrive in the mail
until the following week.87 This is obviously a design flaw, and the deadline for people
who vote with a provisional ballot to return with the required ID should be extended if
the state has not provided them with an ID in a timely fashion.
The League of Women Voters report noted that during this years primary, There were
times noted by observers when a provisional ballot should have been offered to the
voter and was not, including at some Milwaukee polling places where voters who did
not have an ID were not offered a provisional ballot as the law requires.88

New elections programs and technologies

Many Wisconsin voters will cast their ballots using old machines and outdated software.
A 2015 report from the Brennan Center for Justice found that most of Wisconsins
municipalities are using voting machines that are at least a decade old, which is perilously close to the end of most systems expected lifespan. Old voting equipment
increases the risk of failures and crasheswhich can lead to long lines and lost votes
on Election Dayand problems only get worse the longer we wait.89 The League of
Women Voters of Wisconsin documented at least 39 polling places in which machines
malfunctioned during the 2016 primary election. The Leagues report mentioned one
voting machine in Milwaukee County that could not be repaired, and a disabled voter
was not able to cast a ballot due to the malfunction.90 The integrity of American elections requires well-maintained electoral infrastructure and modern machines that also
create paper receipts.
Wisconsin statutes authorize electronic poll books, which are electronic lists of registered voters that can be updated to show who has voted in real time, if approved by the
GAB.91 But in 2014, the board conducted a study and decided not to approve their use,
pending further study.92

7 Center for American Progress | Preventing Problems at the Polls: Wisconsin

Conclusion
Wisconsin has a long history of good government reforms, but recent laws have made it
harder for citizens to cast a ballot. New rules for voting caused confusion and delays in
this years primaries, especially on college campuses. Changes to voting laws as a result
of court rulings since the primaries may ease some of these concerns, but when problems occur, the new partisan Ethics Commission may have a harder time agreeing on
how to handle them than the nonpartisan Government Accountability Board.
State officials should encourage and facilitate voter participation, not deter it. Taking
away an individuals right to vote for partisan gain is not fair play. Wisconsin has a rich
tradition of good government and robust civic participation, but the new voting laws
and a growth in disturbing practices could jeopardize that legacy.
Liz Kennedy is the Director of Democracy and Government Reform at the Center for
American Progress.Billy Corriher is the Director of Research for Legal Progress at the Center.

8 Center for American Progress | Preventing Problems at the Polls: Wisconsin

Endnotes
1 Zoltan Hajnal, Nazita Lajevardi, and Lindsay Nelson, Voter
Identification Laws and the Suppression of Minority Votes
(forthcoming), available at http://pages.ucsd.edu/~zhajnal/
page5/documents/voterIDhajnaletal.pdf; Isela Gutierrez
and Bob Hall, Alarm Bells from Silenced Voters (Durham:
Democracy North Carolina, 2015), available at http://ncdemocracy.org/downloads/SilencedVoterAlarm.pdf.
2 Ian Millhiser, The State of Americas Voting Rights, In One
Map, ThinkProgress, September 1, 2016, available at https://
thinkprogress.org/the-state-of-americas-voting-rightsin-one-map-663bc79741cd#.urrvnkyn8; the set of briefs
explain legal developments as of their dates of publication.
3 Patrick Marley and Jason Stein, Assembly Approves Changes To Voting Hours, ID Law, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
November 15, 2013, available at http://archive.jsonline.com/
news/statepolitics/assembly-kicks-off-tense-session-onrecalls-early-voting-hours-b99142673z1-231963621.html;
Ari Berman, Wisconsin Voter-ID Law Could Block 300,000
Registered Voters From The Polls, The Nation, April 1, 2016,
available at https://www.thenation.com/article/wisconsinsvoter-id-law-could-block-300000-registered-voters-fromthe-polls/.
4 This email was among the documents uncovered by The
Guardian. See Ed Pilkington and Guardian US interactive
team, Leaked court documents from John Doe investigation in Wisconsin lay bare pervasive influence of corporate
cash on modern US elections, The Guardian, September 14,
2016, available at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/
ng-interactive/2016/sep/14/john-doe-files-scott-walkercorporate-cash-american-politics.
5 Bruce Vielmetti, Rutgers voter fraud expert testifies at Wisconsin voter ID trial, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November
8, 2013, available at http://archive.jsonline.com/blogs/
news/231076211.html.
6 Response to Petition for Rehearing En Banc, Frank v.
Walker; One Wisconsin Institute v. Thomsen, Nos. 16-3003,
16-3052, 16-3083, 16-3091 (7th Cir. August 26, 2016),
available at http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/
rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2016/D08-26/C:163083:J:PerCuriam:aut:T:op:N:1817743:S:0.
7 One Wisconsin Institute v. Thomsen, No. 3:15-cv-00324-jdp
(W.D. Wisc. July 29, 2016), available at http://media.jrn.com/
documents/vote_ruling.pdf.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 Patrick Marley, Early Voting in Milwaukee to Include
Multiple Sites, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 29, 2016,
available at http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/
elections/2016/08/29/early-voting-milwaukee-includeremote-sites/89549930/.
11 William H. Frey, Ruy Teixeira, and Robert Griffin, Americas
Electoral Future: How Changing Demographics Could
Impact Presidential Election from 2016 to 2032 (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2016), available
at https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/25000130/SOC2016-report2.pdf.
12 Ibid.
13 ThinkProgress, Wisconsin Students Face Hour-Long Voting
Lines, Voter ID Confusion, April 5, 2016, available at http://
thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/04/05/3766773/studentvoting-milwaukee/.

14 Presidential Commission on Election Administration, The

American Voting Experience: Report and Recommendations
of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration
(2014), available at https://www.supportthevoter.gov/
files/2014/01/Amer-Voting-Exper-final-draft-01-09-14-508.
pdf.
15 League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Election Observation Program: Final Report Election April 5, 2016, (2016),
available at http://www.lwvwi.org/Portals/0/News%20
and%20Events/PDFS/Final%20April%20EO%20Report%20
with%20Add.pdf.
16 Ibid.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
19 League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Election Observation Program: Final Report Election April 5, 2016.
20 Government Accountability Board, Acceptable Photo IDs,
available at http://www.gab.wi.gov/sites/default/files/
publication/137/acceptable_photo_ids_for_voting_in_wi_
pdf_20769.pdf (last accessed September 2016).
21 League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Election Observation Program: Final Report Election April 5, 2016.
22 Ibid.
23 Government Accountability Board, Acceptable Photo IDs.
24 Barry C. Burden and others, Selection Method, Partisanship, and the Administration of Elections, American Politics
Research 41 (6) (2013): 903936, available at http://citeseerx.
ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.384.2040&rep=r
ep1&type=pdf.
25 Patrick Marley, Judge wants states voter ID plan,
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 12, 2016, available at http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/
elections/2016/09/12/judge-wants-states-voter-idplan/90285924/.
26 Jessie Opoien, Updated: Federal judge overturns restrictions on early, weekend voting in Wisconsin, The Capital
Times, July 29, 2016, available at http://host.madison.com/
ct/news/local/govt-and-politics/election-matters/updatedfederal-judge-overturns-restrictions-on-early-weekendvoting-in/article_eb578ebc-6267-5ad0-9670-7f211968e00c.
html.
27 Ibid.
28 Ariane de Vogue, Court declines to hear appeal on
Wisconsin voter ID law before election, CNN, August 26,
2016, available at http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/26/politics/
wisconsin-voter-id-ruling/.
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid.
31 Response to Petition for Rehearing En Banc, Frank v. Walker;
One Wisconsin Institute v. Thomsen.
32 Marley, Judge wants states voter ID plan.
33 One Wisconsin Institute v. Thomsen, No. 15-cv-324-jdp (W.D.
Wisc. July 29, 2016). The 7th Circuit declined to review
the ruling on early voting. Order, One Wisconsin Institute v.
Thomsen, No. 3:15-cv-00324-jdp (7th Cir. August 22, 2016).

9 Center for American Progress | Preventing Problems at the Polls: Wisconsin

 34 Mark Sommerhauser, Assembly OKs online voter registration, eliminates special registration deputies, Wisconsin
State Journal, February 17, 2016, available at http://
host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/
assembly-oks-online-voter-registration-eliminates-specialregistration-deputies/article_0b76ecfb-3ae5-5e21-b85cf562a9746ed7.html.
35 Ibid.
36 National Conference of State Legislatures, Same-Day Voter
Registration, available at http://www.ncsl.org/research/
elections-and-campaigns/same-day-registration.aspx (last
accessed September 2016).
37 Laura Rokoff and Emma Stokking, Small Investments,
High Yields: A Cost Study of Same Day Registration in Iowa
and North Carolina (New York: Demos, 2012), available at
http://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/
SDR-CostStudy-Final.pdf; Project Vote, Factsheet: Same Day
Registration (2015), available at http://www.projectvote.
org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/SameDayFactSheet-PVFeb2015.pdf.
38 Ibid.
39 Wis. Stat. 6.50 (2015).
40 Teresa James, Caging Democracy (Washington: Project
Vote, 2007), available at http://www.projectvote.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/06/Caging_Democracy_Report.pdf.

63 Kennedy and others, Bullies at the Ballot Box.

64 Blake, The Ballot Cops.
65 Brentin Mock, How the Tea Partys Building a Poll Watcher
Network for November, Colorlines, August 23, 2012, available at http://www.colorlines.com/articles/how-tea-partysbuilding-poll-watcher-network-november.
66 Jason Stein, Scott Walker signs bill allowing election
observers close to voters, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April
2, 2014, available at http://archive.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/scott-walker-signs-bill-allowing-election-observersclose-to-voters-b99238940z1-253573081.html.
67 Wendy Weiser and Adam Gitlin, Dangers of Ballot Security
Operations: Preventing Intimidation, Discrimination, and
Disruption (New York: Brennan Center for Justice, 2016),
available at https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/dangers-ballot-security-operations-preventing-intimidationdiscrimination-and-disruption.
68 J. Mijin Cha and Liz Kennedy, Millions to the Polls: Practical
Policies to Fulfill the Freedom to Vote for All Americans
(New York: Demos, 2014), available at http://www.demos.
org/sites/default/files/publications/Millions%20to%20
the%20Polls%20Non%20Partisan%20Election%20Administration.pdf.

41 Ibid.

69 Shawn Johnson, Republicans Reveal Plan To Break Up

Government Accountability Board, Wisconsin Public Radio,
October 7, 2015, available at https://news.wpr.org/republicans-reveal-plan-break-government-accountability-board.

42 Ibid.

70 Ibid.

43 Abby Goodnough and Don Van Natta, Bush Secured Victory in Florida by Veering From Beaten Path, The New York
Times, November 7, 2004, available at http://www.nytimes.
com/2004/11/07/politics/campaign/07florida.html.

71 Shawn Johnson, Once A Symbol Of Bipartisanship, Government Accountability Board Targeted For Overhaul, Wisconsin Public Radio, October 13, 2015, available at http://www.
wpr.org/once-symbol-bipartisanship-government-accountability-board-targeted-overhaul.

44 Liz Kennedy and others, Bullies at the Ballot Box (New

York and Washington: Demos and Common Cause, 2012),
available at http://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/BulliesAtTheBallotBox-Final.pdf.

72 Ibid.

46 Ibid.

73 Patrick Marley and Jason Stein, Scott Walker signs bills on

splitting GAB, campaign finance, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
December 16, 2015, available at http://archive.jsonline.com/
news/statepolitics/scott-walker-signs-bill-on-splitting-gabb99622842z1-362665541.html.

47 Wis. Admin. Code 9.04 (2015).

74 Ibid.

48 Wis. Stat. 6.92 (2015).

75 Pilkington and Guardian US interactive team, Leaked Court

Documents From John Doe Investigation in Wisconsin Lay
Bare Pervasive Influence of Corporate Cash on Modern US
Elections.

45 Wis. Stat. 6.925 (2015).

49 Ibid.
50 Wis. Stat. 6.325 (2015).

52 Wis. Stat. 6.94 (2015).

76 Abby Rapoport, What? Theres A Nonpartisan Way To Run

Elections?, The American Prospect, September 24, 2012,
available at http://prospect.org/article/what-theres-nonpartisan-way-run-elections.

53 Ibid.

77 Ibid.

54 James, Caging Democracy.

78 Ibid.

55 Wis. Stat. 6.48 (2015).

79 Government Accountability Board, Wisconsins 20092014 Election Administration Plan (2009), available
at http://www.gab.wi.gov/sites/default/files/publication/65/2009_2014_wisconsin_election_administration_
plan__16316.pdf; Government Accountability Board, G.A.B.
Announces Statewide Voter Photo ID Public Education
Campaign, Press release, October 9, 2014, available at
http://www.gab.wi.gov/node/3409.

51 Wis. Stat. 6.92(1) & 6.925 (2015).

56 Wis. Stat. 6.48(a)-(b) (2015).

57 Wis. Stat. 12.09 (2015).
58 Ibid.
59 Government Accountability Board, G.A.B. Issues Flier on
Voter Rights and Responsibilities, Press release, July 31,
2012, available at http://www.gab.wi.gov/node/2437.
60 Mariah Blake, The Ballot Cops, The Atlantic, October 2012,
available at http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/10/the-ballot-cops/309085/.
61 Ibid.

80 Will Dobbs-Allsopp, Why the FECs Deadlock Wont Change

Any Time Soon, Morning Consult, June 23, 2015, available
at https://morningconsult.com/2015/06/23/why-the-fecsdeadlock-wont-change-any-time-soon/.
81 Marley and Stein, Scott Walker signs bills on splitting GAB,
campaign finance.

62 Ibid.

10 Center for American Progress | Preventing Problems at the Polls: Wisconsin

 82 Wisconsin Gazette, Voting rights advocates concerned

about balloting, access, September 8, 2016, available at
http://wisconsingazette.com/2016/09/08/voting-rightsadvocates-concerned-about-balloting-access/.
83 Wisconsin Elections Commission, Voters, available at
http://elections.wi.gov/voters (last accessed September
2016).
84 Lauren Harmon and others, The Health of State Democracies (Washington: Center for American Progress Action
Fund, 2015), available at https://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/civil-liberties/reports/2015/07/07/116570/
the-health-of-state-democracies/.
85 Wisconsin Gazette, Voting rights advocates concerned
about balloting, access.
86 Ibid.
87 Ibid.

88 League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Election Observation Program.

89 Lawrence Norden and Christopher Famighetti, Americas
Voting Machines At Risk (New York: Brennan Center for
Justice, 2015), available at https://www.brennancenter.
org/sites/default/files/publications/Americas_Voting_Machines_At_Risk.pdf.
90 League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Election Observation Program.
91 Wis. Stat. 6.79 (2015).
92 Michael Haas and David Buerger, Memorandum: Electronic
Poll Book Research Final Report, March 19, 2014, available
at http://www.gab.wi.gov/sites/default/files/memo/20/electronic_poll_book_research_recommendations__17865.pdf.

11 Center for American Progress | Preventing Problems at the Polls: Wisconsin